Date: June 22, 2019

Pie Town, NM is an incredible place full of deeply kind people.  After traversing the heat and remoteness of the Gila, it is the exact place to find some respite.  After a long and deep night’s sleep, I hopped down to the local post office to pick up my package of dried beans for this next section, plus a new map section as well.  I then stopped at the Gatherin Place where they served up some excellent pie and breakfast.  Later, I biked to Top of the World, a small general store 3 miles outside of town.  I picked up food to get me through Grants.  On return, I cleaned my bike on the front lawn of the Toaster House, washed my clothes in the shower, and drank a ton of water + ate a ton of food.  

I also made some calls home to hear from others.  I needed some conversational socializing as the Gila had proved its reputation for remote, hot, and dry.  Everyone encouraged me to relax and keep pushing forward.  

As evening rolled around, I stopped back at the Gatherin Place for more dinner.  I then turned off the lights and slept hard again.  I kept thinking of that CDT hiker I had met the day before who said he was getting to Pie Town today.  Never saw him.